Processing facilities are often managed using process control systems. Example processing facilities include manufacturing plants, chemical plants, crude oil refineries, and ore processing plants. Among other operations, process control systems typically interact with and control various field devices, such as sensors and actuators, in the processing facilities.
Wireless technology provides opportunities for process control systems to reduce instrumentation costs, such as by reducing the costs of installing and using sensors or other field devices in a control system. This reduction may, for example, be useful for less critical process measurements, where the costs of installing and using wired field devices may exceed the benefits provided by those wired field devices.
Wireless field devices often use different protocols than configuration tools, diagnostic and asset management systems, control and monitoring systems, or other components in a process control system. These other components in a process control system often use wired protocols to communicate. This often interferes with the ability to fully integrate and use wireless field devices in a process control system.